


What Does It Mean?

by mycwnfate



Category: Legacies (TV 2018), The Originals (TV), The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Eventual Relationships, Eventual Romance, Eventual Sex, Eventual Smut, F/F, Gen, Hosiewritings, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-16
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-14 00:29:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 11,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28787238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mycwnfate/pseuds/mycwnfate
Summary: Set after the events of Dark Josie from Legacies Season 2, this fic explores Hope and Josie's dynamic after the events and the feelings that have surfaced because of them.
Relationships: Hope Mikaelson & Josie Saltzman, Hope Mikaelson/Josie Saltzman
Comments: 41
Kudos: 237





	1. Waking Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hope Wakes Up.

Hope had just woken up. 

The last thing she remembered was telling Josie to fight and god she hoped she had listened to her. 

Hope’s eyes shot open and she arched forward to sit up in her bed, her eyes frantically looking around the room as her breathing was coming heavy against her ribs. 

“Josie.” She spoke as her eyes darted back and forth. 

She was….in her room? Her eyes then trained on to her Aunt Freya who was sitting by her bed side looking rather relived. How long had she been out? 

“Aunt Freya?” She spoke as she looked at her. “How? Why?“ she started as her breathing slowly returned back to normal. 

“Hey, sweetie.” Freya spoke softly. 

“Alaric….he asked me to help. I was able to perform a spell to pull you out of Josie’s subconscious. Long story…I’ll explain later.” She spoke. 

“Where’s Josie?” Hope immediately asked her. She didn’t care about how she got out, she even completely ignored the fact that she was overjoyed to be able to see her aunt again. She only cared that she got Josie out and back to her old self. 

“She’s fine.” Freya assured her. “At least that’s what Alaric told me.” She spoke. 

At this, Hope breathed a sigh of relief. 

“Good.” She replied with a nod before she swung her legs off the side of the bed and went to stand, but her legs seemed to fail her.

Freya steadied her shoulders. 

“Woah there.” Freya spoke before she let out a soft chuckle. “Good thing Alaric asked me to stay for a bit, your body hasn’t fully caught up with itself yet. You were in someone else’s mind for a little too long.” She added as she gently guided Hope back towards her bed. 

Hope laid back down without much protest. She wanted to see Josie, but if her legs couldn’t carry her she’d have to wait. 

“How long was I out?” Hope asked. 

Freya looked at her as she leaned back in the chair she was sitting in. 

“About a week. I tried a lot of spells. Some would only pull you halfway out, some not at all. It was a process to say the least.” Freya answered her. 

Hope nodded as her eyes stared at the ceiling. 

Landon was the next person who came into her head. But, it wasn’t as forceful as Josie was. 

“Is Landon okay?” Hope then asked. 

Freya looked at her and hesitated. 

“Yeah….about that.” She started. “He was stabbed by the Golden Arrow and he’s sort of in a sleeping state.” Freya answered her. 

Hope looked at her, her eyes widening with concern. 

“What?!” Hope exclaimed. 

“Don’t worry!” Freya immediately reassured her. “I’m working on a way to get him awake too.” She added. “Only thing is...the spell I used on you didn’t seem to work on him.” She spoke.

Hope sighed as her eyes returned to the ceiling. 

“Typical. Getting himself killed again.” Hope replied. 

Freya looked at her for a moment in surprise before she spoke. 

“Don’t seem too concerned with you being his girlfriend and all…” Freya pointed out. 

Hope sighed once more and shook her head. 

“Honestly...my main priority is Josie right now.” Hope replied and shock immediately washed over her face and her heart leapt against her chest. 

Why did she just say that? 

“I mean...they both are.” Hope corrected herself. 

Freya looked at Hope, a small smile appearing across her features. 

“I’m glad you and Josie are on good terms again.” Was all she had to say. 

Hope glanced over at her aunt before her eyes flicked away and she gave a small shrug. 

“I guess so. She was sort of avoiding me for a bit.” Hope spoke. 

“Avoiding? Why’s that?” Freya asked. 

“Landon.” Hope replied. “She and him sorta...dated. I guess.” 

Hope could feel the jealousy pooling into her chest, but for some reason it was directed differently. It wasn’t Josie she was feeling jealous of. It was...Landon? Since when did she feel like that? Did Freya switch something in her when she was pulling her out of Josie’s mind? 

“Ah. I see. A love triangle.” Freya replied with a soft smile. 

“Yeah. I guess so.” Hope replied, her head craning to look over at her aunt once more. 

“So she’s really okay?” Hope asked. 

Freya squeezed Hope’s hand reassuringly. 

“Yes, sweetie. She’s fine. I even saw her walking past your room. She looks like she wants to see you.” Freya assured her. 

“Me?” Hope asked. Panic almost prevalent in her voice. 

Things had been weird between her and Josie and now all of a sudden Hope had basically sacrificed herself inside Josie’s subconscious. That wasn’t exactly a normal occurrence that happened on a day to day basis. Hope now felt closer to and more protective of Josie since the events that happened and Hope wasn’t exactly sure what that meant. 

“Yes, you.” Freya replied with a soft chuckle as she stood. “I’ll go get her if you want. I have to go get us some food anyway.” She offered. 

Hope hesitated for a moment. It would probably be weird if she refused. And she didn’t want to offend Josie. She could already tell she was probably going through hell. 

“Yeah sure.” Hope eventually replied with a nod. 

Freya then smiled and nodded in reply before exiting the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!! Leave any feedback below :)
> 
> You can follow my Twitter @thequestioniss for updates.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Josie deals with the backlash of Dark Josie’s actions.

It had been a week since Josie had come back to her true self and it appeared that the entire school hated her, or at least were afraid of her. As she walked through the halls, she kept her head down avoiding any interaction with anyone who may cross her path. She couldn’t stop replaying the events of the school meeting. Alyssa had basically called her out and bullied her in front of the entire school and she really didn’t have anyone on her side at the present moment. Except for her sister and a few friends. 

Josie had to admit, part of it was warranted. She did threaten to kill them all and put their lives on the line. But, the backlash she was taking was actually beginning to take a toll on her, especially with her magic locked away. In any normal circumstance, she’d probably siphon something and let all of her frustrations out, but that wasn’t an option right now. And perhaps that was for the best. She didn’t want to run the risk of going dark again and actually doing more damage than she had already done.

As Josie finally reached her room away from prying eyes, she fell down against her bed and let out a sigh. 

“Well you just seem like a ray of sunshine.” Lizzie spoke. 

Lizzie was laying on her bed actually reading a book. 

Josie looked over to her and raised an eyebrow. 

“I should be more concerned about you. Are you actually reading?” Josie questioned her. 

Lizzie let out an exasperated sigh. 

“Unfortunately. MG recommended me some book and I don’t know...part of me felt the need to indulge him only this once.” She replied to her. She soon saw the smug look on Josie’s face. 

“No, no, no.” Lizzie quickly added. “Don’t get the wrong idea. I’m simply...trying to be nice.” She spoke. 

That answer made the smug look on Josie’s face grow even wider as she let out a soft laugh. 

“Since when are you nice to anyone?” Josie asked. 

Lizzie looked over at Josie before she closed the book and swung her feet over the side of her bed to look at her sister. 

“Listen. I’m just trying something new.” Lizzie replied. 

Josie laughed once more and nodded. 

“Mhm. Whatever you say, Lizzie.” Josie replied. 

Lizzie let out a defeated sigh. 

“Okay then….tell me what’s got you all worked up then.” She spoke trying to change the subject. “People still giving you side eye in the hallways?” She asked. 

It was Josie’s turn to let out a defeated sigh. 

“Yeah.” She replied. “Although...I don’t blame them.” 

Lizzie scoffed. 

“It’s not like it was your fault. They are all just too self absorbed to see it.” 

Josie then sat up to look at her sister. 

“But it was…” Josie answered, her eyes glancing down at the ground. 

Lizzie looked at her sister as a sympathetic look washed over her features. She then stood and sat down next to Josie. 

“No it wasn’t and you know it. A lot of people can see that. Me, MG, Dad, Hope...” Lizzie started.

Hope. 

“Hope!” Josie exclaimed. She had completely forgotten she was still asleep. No wonder why she had felt so off lately. It wasn’t just the side eye and the whispers, she had felt like something was missing and that was Hope. Hope was always there for her, always knew the right words to say even if they were a little rocky at the time being, Josie had to admit, Lizzie did lack in the department of pep talks at times. Hope never did. 

Lizzie jumped at the sudden yell that escaped Josie. 

“Yes, Hope. What about her?” Lizzie asked as she rubbed at her ear that Josie had conveniently yelled into. 

“She’s still asleep.” Josie spoke frantically as she looked over at Lizzie. “Wait is she still asleep? Is she awake yet?” 

Lizzie looked at her sister as realization washed over her face. 

“Oh right….yeah. I ran into her aunt. You know how dad recruited her for ‘operation get Hope out of Josie’s head.’” Lizzie replied. 

Shock drew across Josie’s features. 

“What?! Why didn’t anyone tell me?” Josie asked. 

Lizzie looked at her, her brow furrowing. 

“Well...I was sort of getting to that.” Lizzie answered.

Josie stared at her sister for a moment. She was trying to decide on what her next course of action would be. She stood after a few moments and headed straight for the door. 

Lizzie shot up from the bed and grabbed Josie’s arm. 

“Hooooold on there.” She spoke. “By she’s awake….I mean she LITERALLY just woke up. It’s probably not the best idea to go barging into her room.” Lizzie spoke. 

Josie looked back at her sister before she glanced down at her hand clasped around her arm. God, she wished she could use magic to get out of her grasp. 

“But-“ Josie started. 

“Patience, dear sister.” Lizzie cut her off as she pulled her back away from the door. “You’ll get to her soon enough.” She added, this time the smug look having appeared on Lizzie’s face. 

You’d think those simple words would quell Josie’s mind, but she soon found herself walking by Hope’s room feeling very tempted to walk inside. But, she had pushed back the thought and headed to class. She couldn’t, not yet. Hope was probably tired. Actually, Josie wasn’t really aware of the shape Hope was in at all, but she just wanted to know if she was okay. She wanted to talk to her again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!! Leave any feedback below :)
> 
> You can follow my Twitter @thequestioniss for updates.


	3. Left With Questions

Hope had eventually fell back to sleep. For someone who had been unconscious for a week she was surprisingly tired. 

What Hope didn’t know was that Josie was standing outside Hope’s door trying to work up the courage to knock. 

How was she going to thank her? How should she greet her? Should she hug her? Were things still weird between them? So many questions swirled in Josie’s brain. 

Josie eventually let out a deep breath. 

“Just do it.” She spoke to herself and before she knew it she was knocking on the door. 

Hope slowly opened her eyes as she heard the knock. She wasn’t exactly sure what the noise she had heard was as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. 

She then heard the knock again. 

“Oh..” Hope whispered as she registered what the sound was. “Come in.” She called out loud enough for whoever was on the other side of the door to hear. 

The door slowly swung open and Josie stuck her head through the gap. 

“Hey.” Josie spoke softly, her heart pounding at her ribcage in her wake of nervousness. 

“Hey.” Hope replied softly as she felt her heart flip in her chest. Why was it doing that? 

Josie stood there for only a moment before she stepped inside the room and closed the door behind her. 

The amount of time that they just stared at each other felt like an eternity. Both of them were too nervous to think of something to say. 

It was Hope who eventually broke the silence. She had shifted in her bed and had patted an empty spot gesturing for Josie to sit down. 

Josie followed her gesture and walked over and sat down against Hope’s bed. 

“Uh-“ Josie started. 

“Are you okay?” Hope interrupted her. “Oh—sorry.” She spoke as she shook her head. “You go.” 

“Oh…no it’s okay.” Josie replied. “I’m fine. Just...shaken I guess. Are you okay?” She asked Hope, her eyes not exactly meeting hers.

“I’m more concerned about you, Jo.” Hope replied to her. 

At that, Josie could actually feel her cheeks heat up. After a moment of recovery Josie shook her head. 

“I’m fine, Hope. Really. I locked my magic away so it won’t happen again.” Josie replied. 

“What??” Hope asked in shock. “You locked your magic away? But-“ She started. 

“It was for the best.” Josie replied. “Once I know I’m okay to use it again, I’ll just take it back.” 

“But Jo-“ Hope started. 

“It’s okay, Hope.” Josie reassured her. “I’m fine without it. In fact, it kind of gives me peace of mind at times. Knowing it can’t turn me dark again…” She explained. 

Hope watched her carefully, her eyes trained on hers even though Josie hadn’t met her eyes yet. 

“Okay…” Hope answered her. “But if you actually need it….promise me you’ll take it back. I don’t want you getting hurt.” She spoke.

At that, Josie’s eyes registered Hope’s and she saw the concerned look upon her features. Her eyes immediately returned to look at her hands that were in her lap, her fingers fidgeting with each other. She really hoped Hope couldn’t tell how nervous she was, wolf instincts and all. 

“I promise.” Josie eventually replied. 

Hope let out a soft sigh and nodded. 

“Okay good.” Hope replied. “How’s uh….how’s the school taking it?” She then added.

Josie let out an exasperated sigh at that question. 

“Not well.” Josie replied. “Everyone seems to either hate me or are afraid of me.” She explained. 

Hope chewed at her lip and glanced down noticing Josie’s fidgeting hands. 

“I was afraid of that.” Hope answered her before she shook her head. “I’m so sorry, Jo. I should have been there sooner. Maybe I could have prevented it…” She spoke. 

Josie’s eyes once again found Hope’s and she frantically shook her head. 

“Don’t even say that.” Josie replied to her. “You got me out of it in the end. And I’m so thankful for you for doing that. I don’t think I’d be here if it wasn’t for you. You were the only one who didn’t give up on me…” She spoke as she could feel her eyes begin to sting and tears well at the bottom of her eyelids. She was so used to being given up on. Hope was the only one she could pinpoint who had never gave up on her even for a minute. 

Hope could see the tears well up at the bottom of Josie’s eyes and she immediately reached out to grab her hand and give it a gentle squeeze. 

“Hey.” Hope whispered. “All that matters is you’re safe now and the people who care about you have you back. I’m glad I was able to bring you back. You don’t need to thank me. I...I don’t know what I would have done if I couldn’t have brought you back.” She admitted as her hand reached up to gently wipe a tear away from her cheek. 

Shit. Was that too much? Maybe she shouldn’t have done that. 

Josie’s cheeks immediately heated up once more at Hope’s touch. She had never been that intimate with her before. It was definitely new and Josie guessed it was a good sign that maybe things weren’t weird between them anymore, but getting better. Back to the way things used to be when they were close. It didn’t matter though because either way Josie couldn’t stop herself from blushing and she prayed Hope didn’t notice. 

Oh, but Hope noticed. It was the curse of having wolf instincts. Not much got by her. She couldn’t read Josie’s feelings or anything, but she could read her body language and she could tell her touch had made her nervous. 

Yep. She shouldn’t have done that. Things would be weird now. They weren’t at the level of friendship yet. 

Before Hope could wrestle with her inner thoughts any further, she felt Josie’s arms wrap around her neck. 

Oh. 

“Either way. Thank you, Hope.” Josie whispered softly.  
“And I’m sorry I’ve been avoiding you lately and acting...weird.” She added. 

“Oh—“ Hope replied. “It’s okay. I get it.” She replied to her. She hesitated for only a moment before her arms gently wrapped themselves around Josie’s back. 

Josie let out a content sigh in reply before she slowly let go of her. Hope’s hands lingered on Josie’s back for only a moment before they both cleared their throats to break the small silence that had fallen between them. 

“Anyways…” Josie spoke. “I need to get to class. Do you uh...need anything? I can swing by between classes to drop off any work you missed.” She offered. 

“Oh.” Hope spoke. She seemed to say that a lot. “Yeah. I should probably take you up on that. I shouldn’t fall behind.” She spoke. “I’ll be here. Can't really move my legs yet, so…” She added 

Josie smiled kindly in reply. “Okay. Well...uh...I’ll see you later then.” She spoke as she stood and headed for the door. She gave Hope one final smile before she exited her room. 

After Josie had left, Hope sat up in her bed staring at the wall completely dumbfounded. Their interaction. How they both seemed to feel. What did it mean?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some of you brought it to my attention that I posted chapter 2 twice! So sorry! It’s been fixed. Thanks for reading!! Leave any feedback below. Working on another chapter :)
> 
> You can follow my Twitter @thequestioniss for updates.


	4. Confusion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hope deals with her confusion over her increasing connection towards Josie and her decreasing connection towards Landon.

It was the next day and Hope had regained her motion and decided to take a walk. She hated being cooped up in her room and wanted some fresh air. She was well aware of the looks she was getting, most likely because she had actively defended Josie when 95% of the school did not. Hope didn’t care though, she stood by Josie and she’d continue to do so. And it actually gave Hope a little peace of mind that Josie wasn’t the only one getting stares, but that Hope could direct some her way as well. She didn’t want Josie shouldering the entire burden. Josie had enough on her plate already. 

Hope took the sweater she had tied around her waste and pulled it over her shoulders as she stepped outside. She squinted hard into the sun. 

“Jesus.” She muttered under her breath. She really was in Josie’s mind too long because the sun felt absolutely blinding. 

“Been cooped up too long?” She heard a familiar voice speak. 

Hope turned to see Landon. 

“Landon!” Hope spoke as she flung her arms around him. She was happy to see that he was alive, but seeing him now was unexpected to say the least. “You should be one to talk. You’ve been asleep for god knows how long.” She replied. 

“Yeah. Your aunt. She’s a cool lady.” Landon replied. “Got me out this morning.” He added before he leaned in to kiss her. 

Hope wasn’t sure what possessed her, but she dodged and planted a soft kiss on his cheek. 

“Well bye!” Hope spoke. 

“Wait...I—“ Landon started. 

“Sorry! Promised MG I’d help him train today. We’ll talk later.” Hope replied. A complete lie. But she knew if she asked MG he’d cover for her. At that, Hope rushed off. 

We’ll talk later. Pfft. What was she thinking? What would she even say to him later? ‘Oh I’m sorry I suddenly feel very close to Josie and not to you and don’t know how to handle these feelings?’ God no. Hope would never utter the words. It was hard enough for anyone to pull her true feelings out, she wasn’t going to willingly share them anytime soon especially if it could hurt someone after having just been stabbed to death. 

Hope shook the thoughts from her mind and sighed as she walked towards the lake. She’d figure it out later. Whenever later may be. 

Hope eventually reached the lake and immediately laid down against the dock. The wood was warm against her back from the sunlight that had been hitting it. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. After a few moments Hope heard footsteps approached, her brows furrowing in concentration to see if she could work out who they belonged to. 

“Room for one more?” A soft voice whispered. 

At that, Hope squinted open one eye to look up at Josie. 

Shit. 

“Oh uh...yeah.” Hope spoke as she sat up and scooted over before laying back down. The warmth of the wood against her back was something she didn’t want to give up. 

Josie took her place beside Hope. She laid down and crossed her hands against her stomach as she looked up at the clouds above. 

“I always liked laying here as a kid, trying to find the different cloud shapes, think up spells…” Josie started. 

Hope smiled to herself thinking of a younger Josie. She had known her when she was younger, but hearing this information was news to her. Guess she wasn’t the only one who had this spot as a favorite place. 

“I just like the sound of the trees...and the water… and the fish.” Hope listed off. 

“The fish?” Josie asked curiously as she looked over at Hope with a furrowed brow or confusion. 

Hope glanced back over at Josie as she felt her eyes on hers. She then tapped at her ear. 

“Wolf hearing.” Hope replied. 

“Oh. Right.” Josie replied as she directed her attention back to the sky. “Sometimes I forget about that. Only time I really remember is when I see your eyes turn gold.” She spoke. “Rafael’s usually do it when he gets worked up. I’ve had to calm him down before, kind of like what I do with Lizzie. Happened the other day...you know how he uh...stabbed Landon.” 

Hope immediately sat up with a shocked expression on her face. 

“Raf did that?!” Hope exclaimed. 

Josie slightly jumped at Hope’s sudden outburst. 

“Yeah? How didn’t you know that? I saw you talking to Landon earlier.” Josie replied. 

Hope immediately looked away from Josie, her eyes finding the dock. 

“I only talked to him for like a minute.” Hope replied. 

Josie gave Hope a confused look. “Only a minute? I’d think longer considering…” She replied. 

God. How was she going to explain her way out of this one? For some reason, Hope had the sudden urge to tell Josie the truth, or at least half of it. 

“Yeah uh...I wasn’t really up to talk to him.” Hope replied with a shake of her head. “I’ve been...I don’t know...confused?” She replied. She stated it in a form of a question. It’s not like Josie knew the answer, but Hope herself was questioning. 

“Confused how?” Josie asked. 

Hope let out a sigh and laid back down against the dock. 

“I don’t know I just….lost the connection to him? It was like all of a sudden I woke up, was told about Landon and I was just...I mean I was concerned and obviously wanted him to be alive, but part of me….wanted to not have to face him.” Hope replied as her hands came to rest over her eyes as she let out a breath. “I don’t know...that makes me sound awful.” 

Josie propped herself up on her elbow to properly look at Hope. 

“Hey. No it doesn’t.” Josie replied as she went to reach for Hope’s hand, but quickly retracted it before she could notice. “It just maybe means you guys have drifted apart. Maybe it was happening before and you just didn’t realize it?” She suggested. 

Hope slowly removed her hands from her face and shrugged. 

“I don’t know. Maybe?” Hope replied. “Either way, I should probably figure it out and talk to him. But, I mean he just basically got betrayed by his own brother I feel like this isn’t the best time to bring up a “it’s not you it’s me” conversation.” She spoke. 

“No time is really the BEST time.” Josie replied. “But I do see your point.” She spoke. 

Josie felt selfish for thinking this, but she was actually sort of glad that Hope and Landon were having issues. She had thought she was jealous of Hope having Landon, and she was for a short period of time, but she had actually realized not too long before that is was actually Landon she was jealous of for having Hope. Josie actually regretted not keeping the note in Hope’s room years ago. Who knows how it would have turned out. 

“Yeah…” Hope trailed off before she slowly sat up with a groan. “Sorry...I didn’t mean to just lay that on you.” She spoke. 

“Don’t even worry about it. I’m always here for you if you need me.” Josie reassured her with a smile. 

God. Hope loved her smile. 

Before Hope could obviously turn red and grow more confused she stood up brushing off her pants. 

“Well...I gotta go raid the kitchen for some food. I just realized I’m actually starving.” Hope spoke. It wasn’t actually a lie, she was. She had walked straight out of her room and outside without even thinking of eating and she was craving something sweet at the moment, most likely from stress. 

“Oh. Okay.” Josie replied with a smile. 

Hope stood there for a slight awkward moment before she nodded. 

“Alright I’ll uh...see you later.” Hope spoke before she turned on her heels and started to walk off. 

“Hey Hope?” She heard Josie call out. 

Hope stopped and turned to look at Josie. She hasn’t realized how beautiful she was. The way the sun hit her shoulders, the way it reflected off her dark her, the way the breeze blew against her hair. 

“Don’t be afraid to drop by my room one day. You know if you need anymore help or just want to talk, hang out, whatever…” Josie offered with a smile. 

Josie just invited Hope to her room. Stay calm, Hope. It’s not how you think. 

“Oh.” Hope replied. She took a moment of hesitation to find more words. “Yeah. Same goes for you.” She replied with a small smile in return. 

At that, Hope swung against her heels and turned around to head back inside, her mind swimming with even more confusion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!! Leave any feedback you may have :) 
> 
> Will be writing another chapter soon. I want to try to include a fully activated tribrid Hope, just gotta think of how to do that!


	5. Losing Control

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hope notices it’s not just her thoughts that have affected her after being in Josie’s subconscious, but that there is more to the story.

Hope reached the kitchen where she was able to actively avoid Josie for the time being. She couldn’t get what Josie said out of her head and she didn’t know why. She didn’t understand why a simple sentence from her worked her up all of a sudden. Josie had never made her nervous or caused her to question herself before, so why now? Did it have something to do with the fact that she had been inside her mind? Or did she actually have...feelings for her? Hope tried to push the thought out of her mind, her thumb and pointer finger pressing on the bridge of her nose trying to force the thought out of her head for the time being. 

She soon felt arms wrap around her waist and she jumped practically a mile with a soft yelp of surprise. She turned to see Landon and for some reason she felt a great deal of annoyance wash over her. He had annoyed her before, sure. But this was different. It was the type of annoyance she felt when she needed to get away from someone or else she felt like she could explode. 

“Dont do that!” Hope exclaimed. 

Landon smiled and chuckled. 

“Okay, okay. I’m sorry.” He replied to her. 

“I’m sure you are…” Hope replied as she turned to open the cabinets to look for the food she had gone searching for to basically avoid Josie. She didn’t expect to run in to the other person she was currently trying to avoid. 

“Hey…” Landon started. “What’s going on with you? Are you okay?” He asked. 

“I’m fine.” Hope replied almost immediately. A sure sign she was not. She always instinctively answered with that phrase too quickly to get people to stop breathing down her neck. 

Just talk to him, Hope. You are going to have to tell him what’s wrong eventually and no one is in here with you. Just say something. 

Hope let out a low sigh as she found the courage to actually turn around to look at Landon. He had a hopeful and expectant smile on his face which made what she had to say even harder. 

“I think….I don’t know...I just need a little space…” Hope spoke. 

Landon’s smile immediately faded and Hope felt like she could physically feel her heart break. For someone who had been raised by someone who learned how to shut out feelings, she really did feel them deeply at times. 

“Oh...uh...okay.” Landon replied. 

Well...that wasn’t the worst reaction she could have had from him. 

Hope stood there for a moment as she rocked back on her heels once and nodded. She then gave him a sympathetic look. 

“It’s uh...not you.” She tried to reassure him. “I promise.” 

Landon nodded. “Don’t worry. I hear ya loud and clear. I’ll keep my distance for now.” And at that he walked off. 

As Hope watched him walk off, she closed her eyes tightly in frustration. She felt as if she could scream. She hated hurting people and she hated how confused she felt. Maybe she’d have to try to wolf out later, blow off some of the steam. 

Hope stood in the kitchen not even knowing what to do next. She watched as the cabinets began to shake. She took a few steady breaths. This wasn’t good. She hadn’t lost control of her magic since the Mystic Falls pageant. But this...this loss of control felt different. Almost foreign to her. She’d lost control before and this one felt more intense, harder to control. However, she was able to steady the shaking of the cabinets and headed out of the kitchen. If she was going to blow up, it couldn’t be here. 

“Mikaelson!” Hope heard a familiar voice call out. 

It was Lizzie. Great. The one person who would see right through her.

“What Lizzie?” Hope spoke rather curtly. 

Lizzie immediately grabbed hold of Hope’s arm and before she knew it she was being dragged back into the kitchen. 

“Lizzie—“ Hope began to protest. 

Lizzie didn’t listen. She just pushed Hope into the corner of the kitchen so no one could hear them. 

“What was that?” Lizzie asked, gesturing to their surroundings. “Remember the screaming in the woods?” She spoke. “I saw Froto leaving all depressed, is that what this is about?” 

Shit. 

“I’d rather not talk about it.” Hope replied. How was she supposed to explain to her that she was having trouble with how she felt about her sister and that it was basically eating her up to the point where she was beginning to lose control of her magic. 

“Ah!” Lizzie exclaimed and quickly removed her hand from Hope’s arm. 

Hope looked at her in confusion. 

“What was that?” She asked. 

“You…feel weird.” Lizzie replied. 

“Oh wow thanks.” Hope replied. 

“No I mean...your magic. It’s…wrong.” Lizzie spoke. She hadn’t been siphoning from Hope, but as a siphoner Lizzie could feel when the magic around her felt off. 

“You are going to have to give me more than that, Lizzie. What do you mean wrong?” Hope questioned. 

Realization quickly dawned on Lizzie’s face as her thoughts caught up with her and she grabbed hold of Hope’s shoulders. 

“The dark magic in Josie’s subconscious. It’s made your magic go off the wall.” Lizzie replied. “Ohh...this is not good.” 

So that’s why she was losing control all of a sudden. Her emotions were probably amplifying an already large problem. The fact that her magic was already unsteady. At least she had one explanation for her list of questions. 

“If Josie didn't lock away her magic she could help with this…” Lizzie muttered under her voice, her thoughts immediately racing in her head. 

“I don’t want Josie helping with this!” Hope quickly replied. 

Lizzie quickly looked at her, a suspicious look on her features. 

“What’s that supposed to mean? I thought you and my sister were fine now?” Lizzie asked. 

“Oh—“ Hope started before she shook her head. “We are. I just….you know she’s under a lot of stress right now and I’d rather not have her know that her mind could have possibly done something to my magic. She should also take her magic back when she wants to…” Hope explained. 

This was true, but it also stemmed from the fact that Hope couldn’t be that close to Josie. She’d probably be able to read her like a book, especially if she had to look at whatever type of unsteady magic seemed to currently be flowing through Hope. 

Lizzie nodded letting out a small sigh. “Yeah...you are right. Okay...meet me on Saturday at the yelling woods place, okay?” She suggested. 

Hope looked at her and hesitated before she nodded. 

“Yeah...fine.” Hope answered. 

Lizzie nodded contently. “Okay. Good. For the time being, try not to lose it yeah?” She added with a gentle tap on her shoulders. 

“Yeah…” Hope replied. 

Lizzie nodded once more before she turned on her heels and left Hope alone once again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!! Please leave any feedback you may have.   
> Also if you want any updates follow my Twitter @thequestioniss :)


	6. A Run-In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hope and Josie have a run-in that doesn’t go quite as expected.

Josie had been heading to class when she saw Landon. He gave her a warm smile, but she could feel the pain in his eyes. She wondered if Hope had actually talked to him about what was going on with her, whatever that may be. All Josie knew was what Hope had told her, but she guessed the outcome would be Hope asking him for space. 

Josie sat down in her class and looked towards the right side of the room where Hope usually sat. Hope was sitting there tapping her pencil against her leg and chewing the inside of her cheek. While they did have their ups and downs, Josie knew this as a classic sign of stress in Hope. For someone who tucks away their feelings, Hope very outwardly shows them at times. 

Josie saw Hope starting to turn her head and she immediately turned her attention to her notebook to avoid her gaze. The last thing Hope needed was to notice Josie creepily staring at her. 

Class soon came and went and Josie watched as Hope basically darted out of the doorway and down the hall in the direct of her room. Josie had never seen Hope so on edge and she was on edge a lot. It’s like Josie could physically feel the tension falling off of Hope. 

————

Later that night, Josie had woken up and headed down to her dad‘s office. It was usually where she went when she couldn’t sleep. She had the key, it was private, and if she fell asleep against his desk her dad would find her in the morning to wake her up. Being the daughter of the headmaster of the school had its perks at times. She usually sat in the chair at his desk and looked at the moonlight until she got tired enough to drag herself back to her room. Sometimes a change of scenery was the key. 

Josie could feel herself getting tired after about 15 minutes, so she decided to head back to her room. She opened the door to her dad’s office and turned around to close the door. When she turned again to start walking, she let out a quiet yelp and heard a familiar voice do the same as her body crashed into someone else’s. 

“Josie?” Hope spoke. 

Shit. Hope thought. This isn’t what she needed right now. 

Josie rubbed at her eyes to try to get Hope in focus. 

“Oh. Hope.” Josie spoke. 

“Uh yeah...hi.” Hope replied. 

Josie thought for a moment. What on earth was she doing in front of her dad’s office at this hour? 

“I’m uh...looking for the keys to the gate…” Hope spoke answering Josie’s question before she had to ask it. 

“The gate?” Josie asked. “Why?” 

Hope paused for a moment trying to think of the best way to answer her question. She probably shouldn’t have mentioned that. She decided to go with honesty. For some reason she found it very hard to lie to Josie. 

“I need to wolf out and I wanted to go somewhere familiar that wasn’t here…” She admitted. 

Josie looked at her, or at least tried to look at her through the dark as she processed the reasoning Hope just gave her. 

“Why not here?” Josie asked. 

“Because….” Hope trailed off, rocking back on her heels. She tended to do that when she got nervous or agiatated. “I just want to get away from here…it’s…” She trailed off. 

Well that was wasn’t vague at all. Josie thought. 

“You know going off grounds is dangerous, Hope. Someone could see you.” Josie replied giving her a worried look. 

“I know.” Hope replied with a nod. “Which is why I was sort of trying to do it when people are usually asleep…I thought that was obvious.” She explained. 

“It was…” Josie replied, a twinge of embarrassment hitting her. “I mean...I’m just saying...you never know.” 

“Yes, mom.” Hope replied sarcastically and she immediately regretted saying that. It really did sound like something her mom would have said to her and Hope could immediately feel her chest tighten. She just now realized how much she could use her mom right about now. Her breathing hitched for a moment as her thoughts raced over what her mom would be saying to her. How she would have helped. This was not the time to have that blow up she was actively trying to avoid all day. Why was this happening to her? Usually small thoughts like this didn’t set her magic off, why now? 

“Forget it—“ Hope started as she went to walk away. She had to get away from Josie before she noticed. 

“Or…” Josie started. “I could just come with you. Keep an eye out.” She suggested before Hope had the chance to leave. 

“No.” Hope immediately answered. Partly because she didn’t want to be alone with Josie. Standing in the hallway in the depth of the night with her was hard enough. The other reason...she wasn’t going to put Josie in danger. 

“Why not?” Josie questioned. 

Hope looked at her for a moment, her jaw clenching and her eyes starting to glow a bright gold in the dark as she was trying to push her sense of control back into herself. She didn’t even manage words, all she did was turn and walk down the hallway. 

“Hope.” Josie spoke before she reached out and grabbed her arm. She could feel Hope’s arm clench under her grip. 

What was going on with her?

Hope didn't turn around. 

“Hope.” Josie repeated. 

Hope balled her hand into a fist and turned to look at Josie.

“Let go of me, please.” Hope spoke through her teeth. Josie didn’t let go. “Josie.” She repeated sternly. “Let me go. I don’t want to hurt you.” She spoke as the lights in the hallway began to flicker. 

Josie’s eyes immediately darted around the hallway before they rested on to Hope’s features. Her eyes were glowing gold and that sent alarm bells off in Josie’s head. It reminded her of the time she had to calm down Rafael. Hope was losing control of herself for some reason. 

“What’s going on? Hope...what’s wrong?” Josie asked as her eyes were drawn to the flickering lights again. 

“Nothing.” Hope replied as she wrenched her hand out of Josie’s grasp and headed towards the door at a run. 

“Hope!” Josie exclaimed as loudly as she could without waking anyone before she immediately ran after her. 

Josie exited the building and watched as Hope seemed to just be trying to run as far away from Josie as she could. 

“Hope!” Josie called out once more as she barreled after her. Josie surprisingly was able to catch up to her and wrapped an arm around her waist pulling her back to stop her. 

“Just wait!” Josie spoke. 

“Get off!” Hope called out before a wave of magic emitted from her body and Josie went flying backwards. 

It took Hope a brief moment to register what had happened before she saw Josie on the ground a few feet away from her. 

“Shit.” Hope said as she ran over to Josie. “I’m so sorry…I don’t know what’s...” She trailed off. 

Josie sat up and brushed some dirt off her shoulders and knees. 

“It’s fine. It’s actually happened to me more times than I can count with Lizzie.” Josie replied to her as she looked over at Hope and noticed a few lights had turned on within the school. Josie immediately stood and grabbed Hope’s hand before pulling her behind one of the larger trees. 

Before Hope could even begin to protest she was practically being pushed up against the tree by Josie. She was ungodly close to her and this wasn’t good. Hope tried to focus her eyes away from Josie, but she was so close to her that it was nearly impossible. 

Josie stood where she was, staying as still as she possibly could. After a few moments the lights went off and Josie breathed a small sigh of relief before she looked at Hope. She just now realized how close she was to her and she was thankful for the dark which covered the blush that immediately appeared on her face. Josie then took a few steps back from Hope. 

“Sorry...if my dad saw me out here he’d probably have my head.” Josie spoke. 

Hope shook her head, her breathing uneven. 

“It’s fine…” Hope replied. 

There was a brief moment of silence between them. 

“I’m uh—“ Hope started. 

“Are you okay?” Josie cut her off. 

“What?...” Hope replied. 

“You’ve been acting on edge lately. And you...I’ve never seen you lose control of your magic like that.” Josie explained to her. “Is it...something I did?” She asked worriedly. 

“No!” Hope replied to her. God, she couldn’t have her thinking this was her fault. 

“But you were in my mind...with the dark magic…I can’t help but think...” Josie trailed off. 

Hope was starting to think Josie had already worked out the same theory that Lizzie had and Hope didn’t like it. She didn’t want Josie to know. She didn’t want Josie to feel any guilt for whatever was happening with her. 

“Jo..” Hope spoke softly. 

“I just want to help you. I mean you risked your life to save me...I want to help you.” Josie spoke. 

“No. You don’t need to.” Hope replied with a shake of her head. “You have your own stuff to deal with…this isn’t your responsibility or your fault. I’m the one who went into your mind and I knew what the risks could be.” Hope tried to reassure her. 

A silence fell between them once again before Josie soon broke it. 

“You just don’t deserve anymore pain…” Josie replied. 

Hope felt like that was a punch right to the chest. No one had ever said that to her. No one besides her own family had truly recognized what she’s had to go through and here Josie was seeming to recognize and acknowledge all of it. 

“I….it’s fine, Josie.” Was all Hope could manage to reply with. 

Josie soon let out a small sign before she reached into her pocket and held out the key to her dad’s office. 

“Here. Go get the key to the gate in my dad’s office and be careful please.” Josie spoke. 

She didn’t know why she was doing this. She wasn’t one to break the rules, especially her own father’s rules, but she somehow knew that if Hope didn’t blow off some of the steam she was holding in this would probably happen again. In the meantime, Josie would be figuring out how to help her whether Hope liked it or not. Helping her go off the grounds was a first step. 

It took a moment to process what Josie was doing, but Hope gratefully took the key from her hand. 

“Thanks…” Hope replied to her. 

Josie nodded as she walked back towards the school and gestured for Hope to follow her. Hope followed behind Josie and they both quietly entered the school. 

“I know I already said this...but be careful.” Josie spoke to her. 

Hope nodded. 

“Always am.” She replied. 

Josie nodded and looked at Hope for a moment. She knew she’d be fine, but she was still worried. 

“Okay. Goodnight, Hope.” Josie eventually said as she went to walk back to her room. 

“Goodnight…” Hope replied as she watched her walk off, her heart leaping in her chest as she did so. Hope shook her head to try to get rid of the feeling and walked to Alaric’s office to grab the key to the gate. She wouldn’t have a ton of time, but it was better than nothing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Again...leave any feedback you might have :)   
> If you want any updates follow my Twitter @thequestioniss   
> Working on another chapter :)


	7. Damage Control

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lizzie tries to help Hope with her loss of control.

Hope had gotten back later than she wanted to, but being able to be free from her mind for a few hours felt nice. But, it didn’t really give her the result she was looking for. She was still as confused and anxious as ever. 

Once Hope had returned to her room, she almost immediately fell asleep only to wake up to the sun blazing against her face a few short hours later. She laid her arm over her face and let out a low groan. She then slowly sat up. She’d barely slept. 

Hope eventually dragged herself out of bed and got ready for the day. She could barely focus. Lack of sleep was definitely not helping her. 

She soon jumped as she heard a knock at the door. 

“Mikaelson! Are you up?” She heard Lizzie speak. 

Hope let out a small sigh and opened the door to greet Lizzie. 

Lizzie looked at her for a moment. 

“You look…” she trailed off before shaking her head. “Nevermind. Let’s go.” Lizzie spoke. 

“What?” Hope asked. “I thought we were meeting later…” She replied. 

“Yeah...change of plans.” Lizzie replied to her. “I’m helping Josie with something later, so I have to push this up.” 

Josie. Why did just the mention of her name get to Hope all of a sudden? 

Hope must have spaced out for a moment because she jumped when she saw Lizzie snap her finger in front of her face. 

“Hope, focus. Let’s go.” Lizzie said as she immediately walked off expecting Hope to follow her. 

Hope shook her head to clear her thoughts. She then followed behind Lizzie, all the while praying she wouldn’t run into Landon or Josie. She really just wanted to shut herself in her room today seeing as she didn’t get the release she was looking for last night and for some reason she didn’t expect whatever Lizzie had in mind would solve the problem in its entirety. 

Lizzie walked right into the woods where they had their “session” back during the pageant and quickly turned to look at Hope who hadn’t noticed her stop and kept walking, almost barreling into Lizzie. 

Lizzie gave Hope a confused look with a hint of concern washing over her features. 

“Okay, Mikaelson. You are just all out of sorts today.” Lizzie blatantly spoke. 

“Yeah…” Hope replied as she rubbed at her temple. “I didn’t sleep well.” 

“That explains why you look so dead. You do realize for someone who is losing control of their magic that sleep is VERY important.” Lizzie scoffed. 

“Yeah, yeah. I’m starting to realize that now.” Hope replied. 

It felt as if her entire body was on fire, that every fiber and every molecule of her being was vibrating out of control. It was a familiar feeling that she didn’t like. 

“Alright. You know the drill.” Lizzie spoke. 

Hope looked at her, an almost annoyed expression rolling over her features. 

“I could have come here by myself to scream if I had known this was all you had in mind.” Hope replied to her. 

Lizzie looked at Hope with an equally annoyed look on her face.

“It’s not all I had in mind. God, don’t you know me at all? I can practically feel your magic boiling over. If you decimate the entire woods with this, I can at least be here as a witness and mitigate the damage with me dad.” Lizzie replied. 

Hope looked at her, her expression softening. It was weird when Lizzie actually showed that she cared about her, but Hope was sure she’d probably be looking at her differently if she told her what her emotions were actually focused on in this present moment, that being Lizzie’s twin sister who she was dangerously protective of. 

“Fine.” Hope replied with a sigh as she stepped forward and reached a hand out to push Lizzie out of the way. 

Lizzie begrudgingly stepped back and crossed her arms over her chest. 

Hope hesitated for a moment before she let all the frustration, confusion, and overall sense of uncontrol out of her body with a scream. It was very similar to how the last one felt, but the destruction was worse. The wave emitted across the forest and the trees swayed and branches started to fall and break. Hope soon looked forward and her eyes widened as she looked at the destruction her magic had caused. She wasn’t expecting it to be this bad. 

Lizzie knelt down next to Hope just as quickly as Hope fell to her knees. 

“Any better?” Lizzie asked. 

Hope sighed and nodded. 

“A little…” Hope started. “But…” 

“Not enough.” Lizzie finished her sentence. 

Hope let out a sigh. 

“Yeah.” Hope replied. 

“Which takes me to phase two.” Lizzie replied as she sat down against the leaves and glanced over at the practically decimated forest. “God…” She spoke. “Maybe phase three might have to be implemented at some point…” She added 

“What’s phase three?” Hope asked as she sat back on to the forest floor and rubbed at her temples still trying to recover from the power that had just exited her body. 

“Not important right now. It’s phase two time.” Lizzie replied to her. 

There was a brief moment of silence before Lizzie spoke. 

“Alright…” Lizzie started. You could practically see her cringe before she said the next words. “Tell me about...your feelings. What’s bothering you?” She asked. 

Hope’s pulse shot up like a rocket at those words. 

Oh no. Not this. Lizzie was the last person she could talk to about what she was feeling. She’d probably murder Hope if she knew what she was currently having trouble with. 

Hope immediately got defensive. 

“How’s that supposed to help? You said I probably have some dark magic in me from Josie’s mind. So...why aren’t we trying to pinpoint the source right now instead?” Hope tried to diverge. 

“Patience, Hope.” Lizzie replied to her. “I’m simply trying to get you to calm down first. We can’t have you blowing up while we’re trying to figure this out, yeah?” She replied rather defensively. “Honestly...I think it might be a good idea to see if Josie can help with this actually...” She trailed off. 

“No!” Hope exclaimed, her eyes filling with a sense of dread. 

Lizzie looked at Hope for a moment, processing. She then leaned forward and placed her elbows against her legs as her eyes narrowed. 

Oh no. Here came the interrogation. 

“Why are you so protective of my sister?” Lizzie asked. 

Shit. 

“I mean...I can’t really judge because all I do is find ways to protect her, but why you?” Lizzie asked, her eyes narrowing further. 

This was what Hope was afraid of. Lizzie was very good at backing people into corners and it was only a matter of time before she did it with Hope. She had to think quickly. 

“Well it’s no secret that I care about her, why wouldn’t I be protective?” Hope asked, trying to direct Lizzie’s question back at her. 

Lizzie kept her eyes narrowed, her eyes trained on Hope before she eventually backed down, but only for a moment. 

“Fair enough.” Lizzie spoke before she paused and thought of her next question carefully. “But why do you have a problem with her helping you and not me?” She added. 

“I-“ Hope started before shaking her head. “You don’t really give me much of a choice seeing as you literally dragged me out here.” She replied. 

“Yeah, but you didn’t really fight back did you?” Lizzie questioned. 

Hope shrugged. “Didn’t feel like putting in the effort to. Plus, I don’t know, you’ve helped me before so…” Hope trailed off.

That seemed to satisfy Lizzie for the time being. 

“Speaking of helping.” Lizzie started. “I never thanked you for basically saving my life...and Josie’s” She replied. 

“Oh…” Hope looked up at her, her heart beat slowing down as the subject of her feelings for Josie had been dropped. “It was nothing. Like you’ve said before, it was one of those hero times for me I guess.” She replied. 

Lizzie laughed for a brief moment. “Yeah well either way...thanks.” She replied.

Hope nodded. 

“No problem.” Hope answered her. 

Silence fell between them for a moment before Lizzie broke it. 

“Anyway, now that I have reached my Hope Mikaelson appreciation limit for the day, back to work. How’s your wolf side?” Lizzie asked curiously. “I mean your witch side is obviously having the time of its life right now, what about the other one?” 

“Oh uh...fine.” Hope started as her mind flashed back to the night before. “I can still turn, it just uh...well it’s not really working how it usually does. It didn’t really give me any release.” She admitted. 

“I’m assuming that doesn’t happen often?” Lizzie asked. 

Hope shook her head in reply. 

Lizzie thought for a moment, silence falling between them. 

“Well...whatever is messing with you is obviously heightening your emotions, but suppressing things too, which is going to make this a lot harder…” Lizzie spoke. “I really think we need to ask Josie. She’s the only who had the darkness in her in the first place. I don’t know. To me it really sounds like you may have taken something wonky back with you from her subconscious. What that is…I have no idea.”

Hope sighed and leaned back against her hands, closing her eyes in frustration. She knew she was right, but Hope really didn’t want to involve her for a multitude of reasons. 

“Lizzie.” Hope started. “Josie had the darkness inside of her. If a part of that could have latched on to me, don’t you think it would be best to stay away from her?” She questioned. 

Lizzie sighed and nodded. 

“Good point, yeah.” Lizzie replied. “Well, us it is then, since I unfortunately stumbled across you on the verge of having a breakdown and I now feel obligated to help…”

“You really don’t need to.” Hope replied with a shake of her head. 

Lizzie scoffed. “Of course I do. We don’t have room for two witches who can’t control their magic, especially a Mikaelson one who’s also half wolf.” She replied. 

Hope nodded in reply. 

“Touché” She spoke. “Now...are we done for the day? Because I kind of need to sleep, not gonna lie…” She spoke. 

Lizzie nodded as she stood up and Hope did the same. 

“Fine. Go on your merry way, but don’t expect me to not be keeping my eye on you.” Lizzie replied. 

Hope nodded. 

“Noted. Thanks.” Hope replied before she walked off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading! Sorry it took so long. If you wanna keep up with me for updates follow my Twitter @thequestioniss


	8. A Crazy Idea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hope and Josie have an interesting idea.

Hope returned to her room and closed the door behind her. She was glad it was the weekend because she needed sleep. She couldn’t see herself having to go to classes and force herself through the day. That would mean no sleep AND having to possibly run into Landon or Josie, which she didn’t want. 

Hope laid on to her bed with a sigh before she pulled herself under the covers of her bed. She fell asleep within minutes as she felt completely exhausted both physically and mentally. 

She hadn’t felt this way for quite some time which explained why the next thing she knew she was jolting up in her bed as she let out a scream and sweat broke out against her back and forehead. She had had a nightmare, which wasn’t necessarily uncommon for Hope, but it hadn’t happened to her in a while. Her breath was hitching, tears were reaching her eyes, and the moments kept replaying in her mind. The hollow, her father, the darkness that consumed her family more than once, that she was afraid had finally found its way into her. 

She heard a knock on the door and she immediately jumped. 

“Hope?” Josie spoke. 

Hope didn’t answer. 

No. Not her. Not now. 

The lights in Hope’s room started to flicker. Hope muttered a spell under her breath to try and stop it, but the light ended up bursting instead which basically left her in complete darkness. She had slept long enough for the sun to go down, so she had been asleep for a while. 

“Shit…” She muttered under her breath as she tried to get her breathing under control and she laid back in her bed, her eyes glued shut as she tried to push the plaguing thoughts out of her mind. 

“Hope.” She heard Josie speak once more as concern reached her voice. 

“I’m fine.” Hope replied shakily as she turned on the nearby light that hadn’t exploded. If she didn’t reply to Josie she knew she wouldn’t leave her alone and that’s what Hope wanted, for her to leave her alone, to stay far away from whatever was going on with her. 

Josie knew Hope well enough that she could hear the difference in her tone. She’d heard the yell she had let out and she had heard the familiar crack of a lightbulb blowing. It was a familiar sound to her because of Lizzie. 

“You sure? Can I come in?” Josie asked quietly. 

Hope let out a sigh and swung herself off of her bed and walked over to the door and opened it to see Josie standing there with obvious concern on her face. Hope didn’t say anything, she just stepped aside to allow Josie in her room, her finger reaching up to her face and wiping a tear away. 

“I’m fine, really. You can go and do whatever it was you were doing...” Hope tried to assure her. 

“Oh. Actually...I was coming here.” Josie spoke. 

Hope looked at her, a wave of surprise passing over her features. 

“Oh. Uhm...why?” Hope asked her. 

Josie hesitated for a moment before she spoke. She wasn’t exactly sure how to tell Hope that she had been researching what was going wrong with her magic on the side. But, she wanted to help her and decided to just explain outright. 

“Well, you know how you hit me with your magic the other day?” Josie asked as she stepped into Hope’s room realizing Hope had stepped aside for her. 

“Yeah?” Hope answered Josie. 

Josie took note of the broken light, confirming her suspicion that it had just happened again. 

“Yeah. Well, I sort of looked into it…” Josie started. 

“Josie—“ Hope started. 

“Just hang on.” Josie stopped her as she pulled a book out of her bag and flipped through a few pages as she sat on to Hope’s bed. 

Hope let out a small sigh and closed the door to her room before she sat down besides Josie. 

“See here?” Josie spoke gesturing to the page she had flipped to. 

“There’s this documented type of dark magic. It doesn’t actually turn you dark per say. I mean...not like what happened to me at least” Josie trailed off before she shook the thought out of her mind and continued. “Anyway, it’s dark magic that feeds off of your emotions, takes the negative ones and pushes them to the surface. It stresses you out to the point where you become paranoid and it can feed off of your weakness…” She explained. 

“Okay...and?” Hope asked curiously. 

“Well, I think when uh dark me hit you with the spell that turned you to stone plus the time you spent in my subconscious, you might have taken back a small piece of the magic. Just enough to do this to you. Not consume you, but feed off of you…” Jose spoke before her eyes locked on to Hope’s. “Is this making sense?” She asked. 

Hope caught Josie’s eye as she heard the question she had directed towards her. 

Had she been staring? She hoped she hadn’t been staring. 

Hope nodded after a few moments. 

“Yeah, it does.” Hope spoke before chuckling softly to herself. “Lizzie is going to hate that you beat her to this…” 

“I just wanted to help…” Josie spoke. “I mean, I’ve never seen you lose control and you’ve just felt I don’t know...off to me and I couldn’t help but keep thinking that whatever you did to save me had something to do with it.” 

“Jo.” Hope spoke softly. “I told you before, you don’t have to. You have your own stuff going on. I don’t want you having to be involved in this again.” She replied to her. 

She felt “off” to her? What did that mean? Was Hope making her feelings this obvious to the point where she was acting different? 

Josie smiled softly towards Hope. 

“You are always trying to protect people.” Josie replied to her.

Hope’s eyes flicked away from Josie’s. That smile. That smile got to her. It was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen. 

“Yeah well…” Hope spoke as her fingers began fidgeting with the blanket on her bed. “I don’t want to lose anyone again…” 

It was weird how casually Hope could say that in front of Josie. How casually she could admit things to her. Well, maybe not everything. Josie had always made Hope feel safe, she never really felt the need to hide her vulnerabilities with her. It was something Hope never truly understood about herself. 

“Is that what the nightmare was about?” Josie asked. 

“What?” Hope asked as her eyes found Josie’s again.

“Oh. Sorry. I didn’t mean to pry. It’s just uh, you know I heard you scream. And the uh…light.” Josie gestured towards the broken light in the corner. 

“Oh.” Hope replied with a shrug. “Kind of. Some are like that.” She spoke. “It was about my dad and the dark magic he saved me from. I guess it was stemming from the fact that I didn’t want him to have saved me from darkness only for it to happen again. I guess I’m just scared it won’t go away this time.” She admitted. 

Josie instinctively reached out her hand and took hold of Hope’s giving it a reassuring squeeze. 

“That won’t happen, Hope. We’ll find a way to get rid of it, and plus...it seems to be minimal like I said. If we work quickly, it will be gone in no time.” Josie tried to assure her. 

“But what if it’s not? What if it’s not that simple?” Hope replied to her. “I mean... the hollow. No amount of magic in the world could have saved my dad from that, my aunt said so herself. And the only reason the darkness got out of you was because MG could put me in your head and you fought it yourself. Given my history, I don’t even know if I’m strong enough to get rid of it myself. I’ll probably just be consumed by it, or die and have to be turned....” Hope rambled. 

“Hope.” Josie spoke as she gave her hand another squeeze. “You’re overthinking. You are thinking of the worst case scenario, which won’t happen. You’re strong, the strongest person I know. If it comes down to you having to fight it then I know you can do it. There isn’t a doubt in my mind.” 

“I’m really not as strong as you think I am…” Hope replied to her shaking her head. 

“Oh no. Of course the girl who’s saved not just my neck, but my sister’s, my dad’s, the entire school’s multiple times isn’t strong.” Josie replied to her with a soft smile. 

Hope couldn’t help but smile at that and shook her head. 

“Sure. If you say so.” Hope replied to her. 

“That’s better.” Josie replied with a soft smile. 

Josie liked seeing Hope smile. She could feel the burdens and the pain she carried on her shoulders and for Josie to be able to pull a smile out of her made her heart flutter in her chest, although just looking at Hope was enough to do that at times. She’d of course never admit that to Hope. As far as Hope knew, Josie used to have a crush on her but it was no more. While to Josie, it had never gone away in the first place. 

A moment of silence fell between them. 

“Hey. I have a crazy idea…” Josie spoke. 

“What is it?” Hope asked curiously. 

“What if we get out of here? Go to New Orleans to see your aunt? Maybe a change of scenery and a familiar face would help you? Plus, your aunt is a powerful Mikaelson witch, I’m sure she can help you with whatever is going on.” Josie suggested. 

“We?” Was the only thing Hope had answered with and she hadn't even meant to say it out loud. 

“Well yeah. I can drive my dad’s car. You sort of can’t…” Josie spoke. 

“Oh.” Hope replied, shaking her head. “Of course.” She replied. 

Josie smiled softly. 

“So?” Josis asked. 

Hope thought for a moment. Going to New Orleans with Josie. It sounded nice, but being alone with her gave her a whole new level of stress. But, maybe it would actually help her sort out what she was feeling too. The idea really has its pros and cons. 

“Okay. Sure.” Hope replied with a shrug. 

Josie’s smile grew wider and she nodded in agreement. 

“Okay. Well, how about I meet you here around…” Josie turned to look at the clock. “uh...7am tomorrow and we can go from there? I know it’s a little short notice and pretty early, but…” 

“No, that’s fine.” Hope replied with a nod. “Works for me.” She answered her. 

“Okay cool.” Josie replied with a smile before she closed the book and hoisted it under her arm before standing up from Hope’s bed and heading towards the door. 

Hope stood as well and followed her to see her out of her room. 

“7am tomorrow.” Josie repeated as she stepped out of Hope’s room. 

“7am tomorrow.” Hope repeated giving Josie a small smile. 

Josie returned to smile. 

“See you then.” Josie answered. 

Hope nodded kindly before closing the door. 

God. What on earth had she just gotten herself into? A road trip with Josie? What was she thinking?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading! Sorry for the long wait. If you want to stay updated feel free to follow my Twitter @thequestioniss :)

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!! Leave any feedback you have :)


End file.
